How To Dress Well?!

To make it clear, this is NOT a blog post about neither clothes nor fashion or the hottest trends even if the title indicate something like it!

So, what is How To Dress Well?

Behind the sentence “how to dress well” is just another weird band name. I call it weird because the name could be the heading of a fashion magazine article, or maybe a blog post. The first thing that popped into my mind when I read the band name in a review of their latest album was something like; Was the name chosen to be found in search engines like Google? So I had to do a test and entered “how to dress well” in Google search field and pushed the search button…and too my big surprise the first thing I got up is the homepage of the band/artist – and other pages with articles about the group.

In other words; What a good choice of band name!

I found that How To Dress Well is not a band name, but the stage name of just one man, Tom Krell. He is also a graduate philosophy student and releases his music through small independent labels like Wierd World Records / Domino Records and Asephale Records.

Where can you listen to How To Dress Well?

Tom Krell has so far released two albums under his alter ego How To Dress Well.

The debut album “Love Remains” (left) was released back in 2010, his second and best album so far is out these days (released September 2012) and is named “Total Loss” (right).  Note: I focus on the latest album in this blogpost.

Buy or hear the album here:
On Itunes US here or Itunes (Nor) here, or listen to it on Spotify or LastFM

You´ll also find a great amount of mixtapes online that gives you a fine introduction to the music that inspires the sound of How To Dress Well. I’ll link to them at the bottom of this page.

How does How To Dress Well sound?

First of all – make sure you hear the album “Total Loss” on a stereo with a good pair of loudspeakers. Or sit down – even better lay down with a pair of headphones. Pump up the volume and let yourself be drawn into the soft and warm sound of “Total Loss”

Lurking in the shadows of soft dubstep and R&B names like James Blake and the soulful landscape of Jamie Woon – a line can also be drawn to The Weeknd. This is the easiest way to describe how How To Dress Well sounds.
The voice mostly falsetto – very soulful, multi-tracked voice, a bit like Bon Iver but with way better falsetto and airy piano not to far from the ambient, classical sounds of Craig Armstrong (the conductor of Massive Attacks “Protection” record and the original score to movies like Romeo & Juliet. Craig Armstrong has also released numerous records under his own name. All slow, orchestral, choral, ambient – soulful and soothing like trip hop at its best) But you also find danceable and funkier sounds on the “Total Loss” album. Even soul singers like the soft voice of Maxwell to more contemporary soul like Maria Carey can seem like a musical influence. Sometimes it sounds like a whole choir has entered the studio – other times it´s just one single voice singing in an empty church. The whole production is smoother, more open, maybe airy is the right description?! I can even hear inspiration from the orchestral part of Prince AOR ballad “Purple Rain” and some inspiration from “Nothing Compares To You” – but not the Sinead O´Connor version or Prince´ own version but the strings and almost a cappella original version by Prince protegé band The Family. If you happen love James Blakes cover of Feist “Limit To Your Love” and Jamie Woons stripped soulful productions; You´ll love to hear How To Dress Wells floating sounds, and their use of echoes, claps, soundscapes and beat boxing and throat voices layer upon layer to create this dream-like soul music.

Tom Krell and How To Dress Well should and could be this years Jamie Woon or Bon Iver. The record everyone should have!

His music might as well can be described as the best soundtrack to a film that has never been made! You wish never ends…until its over in just 46 minutes

Where can you hear more How To Dress Well?

As promised; The mixtapes! Instead of me writing page up and page down of references to the sound of Tom Krell and How To Dress Well listen to and/or download his mixes. Read more about the tracks and mixtapes here:

• Transmissions From A Wistful Place (stream/download) from Something For All Of Us website
• The World Is Ugly And The People Are Wierd (stream/download) from DisMagazine
• Tri-Angle Records Mix (stream) from Wire
•  Change Yourself Mix (download) from The Fader
• HRSDVRS030 (stream/download) from Hors D´oeuvres website
• FactMix 347 (stream/download) from found on the Pidgeons And Planes website

There is so many mixtapes out there online, and gives you, the reader and listener, a great insight into the world of How To Dress Well – search and you shall find!

You can follow and read more about How To Dress Well on his own pages!
Homepage http://howtodresswell.com
Twitter http://twitter.com/howtodresswell
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/howtodresswellmusic

I am so glad that How To Dress Well and Tom Krell don’t deal with style,
and instead he choose do steal and borrow with style!

–

The man with the golden voice: Daniel De Bourg

When you have a voice that sounds like a fine combination of Jamie Woon, Robin Ticke, Justin Timberlake and Drake – you know you got something really special.

If I had a voice like Daniel De Bourg I would really love to do what he does; do a capellas, remakes and covers and pay tribute to the artists I love, just like he does. What do you say about this list of artists? Prince, Justin Timberlake, D´angelo, Usher, Miguel, Trey Songz, Cee-Lo Green, and rappers like 50 Cent – and Lil Wayne. Even female artist like Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Adele and Lianne La Havas!.

Daniel De Bourgh actually does his own versions of all the best new and legendary performers out there. A real show off of who´s-who in soul, from nu-soul to funky and more danceable tracks.
He also does some of his own songs!

Did you know Daniel De Bourg has done one studio album 10 years ago, back in 2002 – and the last two years he has made three mixtapes. I haven´t heard his first album, but his three mixtapes have been played to death since the first time I heard them. All three mixtapes includes over three hours of music an a total of 60 songs all in all. You heard me right, 60 songs!

Maybe I should one day be making a mixtape of all the originals Daniel De Bourg covers and remakes. What do you think?

So who is this Daniel De Bourg?

He is from england, and another living proof that even white men got soul.
According to a wikipedia post about Daniel De Bourg, he has been a dancer and a model. After he had a knee injury he had to end his dancing career. During the year 2000 he started as a songwriter for other artist like Jamelia, and he worked with the late Heavy D – he even got at few tracks produced by bedrom-soul-king R. Kelly. His album that even entered the famous Billboard Charts. Then it all stopped – until 2007 when Daniel De Bourg entered the X-Factor, were he reached to be one of the last twelve – until he was eliminated by both the public and the judges.

Back in 2010 something really cool happened, Daniel De Bourg released his first mixtape, called “the DDB Mixtape Volume 1 – THE PRELUDE”. The album contained a great mix of covers and his own tunes, and this mixtape made him won an award for “Best R´n´B Mixtape 2010” at The Official “Mixtape Awards” at the start of 2011.
During the last 2 years he even released a second and until now third mixtape, In 2011 he released “The DDB Mixtape Volume 2 – THE BRIDGE” and in 2012 ” the third album The DDB Mixtape Volume 3 – OUTRO”. Rumor has it that Daniel De Bourg is now I the studio, working on his second official album!  

Would you like to check out Daniel De Bourgs mixtapes?
All three albums can be downloaded on Daniel De Bourgs Bandcamp page!

You can click the album covers to download the albums! 

Here´s some of the songs you´ll find on his fabulous mixtapes!

Alicia Keys “Sleeping With A Broken Heart” is a male response to her song of the same name.
The controversal “F*** You” by Cee Lo-Green is done in an all-vocal cover.
So is also the Prince classic “If I Was Your Girlfriend” from the legendary “Sign ´o´The Times” album.
Even Justin Timberlakes Prince-sque “Until The End Of Time” gets covered.
And while we´re talking about Prince, the “Purple Rain” sampled “Yo Side Of The Bed” by Trey Songz also has to be mentioned.
The last years queen-of-soul Adele and her songs “Rolling In The Deep” gets an a capella rework!
The already classic “How To Love” by Lil Wayne sounds really great in Daniel De Bourgs a capella soul arrangement.
You can move your feet to Enrique Inglesias “Tonite I´m Loving You”.
The smooth “Marvins Rooms” sounds great.
Musique Soulchilds “L.O.V.E” is actually that: love!
Latino indie jazz lady Lianne La Havas “No Room 4 Doubt”
And the first solo single from Frank Ocean “Swim Good” gets De Bourg-ified
Along with one of the last ten years greatest souls songs, D´angelos “Untitled (How Does It Feel) is done in a short edit.

Phew…and here I just mentioned 13 of the total 60 songs – the last 47 songs you can feel free to find out about yourself

Now you know what to do, check out Daniel De Bourgs music, read more and get to know him and his music through the following social media;
Like Daniel De Bourg on Facebook and Twitter make sure you check out his YouTube page – and last but not least, check out his music on Bandcamp

Happy listening!